Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Children: Poverty

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish a specific funding stream within the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fundto focuson tackling child poverty and providing opportunities to disadvantaged young people, as exists under the current European Social Fund programme.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The government continues to develop the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The new Fund will allow us to invest money according to our own priorities, rather than those set by the EU, and will seek to reduce inequalities and boost productivity across the whole of the UK.

EU Grants and Loans

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there will be a full and public consultation on the detail of the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund; and whether they will engage with young people currently benefiting from projectssupported by EU funds.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The government will be holding a public consultation on the design and priorities of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund later this year, as announced in the Industrial Strategy. This will give all interested parties the opportunity to contribute their views directly to the government.

Local Government Finance

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government following the issuing of a section 114 notice by Northamptonshire County Council, what information they have about the likelihood of other councils issuing such notices; and with which councils they have had discussions on the possible issuing of such notices.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Officials have discussions with councils on a wide range of issues on an ongoing basis. Other than Northamptonshire County Council, no council has indicated that it is actively considering issuing a section 114 notice.

Local Government: Reorganisation

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use to consider the possible reorganisation of local government in England in two-tier areas to create unitary authorities covering the whole, or part, of an existing county area.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Our policy as stated in my Department’s Single Departmental Plan is that we will consider proposals for unitarisation and mergers when requested, and reach a judgment in-the-round as to whether the proposal, if implemented, is likely to improve the area’s local government, commands a good deal of local support in the area and whether the area itself is a credible geography for the proposed new structures.

Town Twinning

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to assess the impactof the UK leaving the EU on existing and possible future twinning arrangements between towns and villages.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Twinning will continue to play an important part in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the states of the European Union, contributing to that deep and special relationship the Prime Minister has made clear she envisages for the future.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Officers

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 1 February (HL4977), on what grounds any changes were made to the privileges accorded to previous Heads of Service; and whether the Chief of Defence Staff or Defence Services Secretary discussed such changes with previous Heads of Service prior to the changes being made.

earl howe: As I explained in my earlier answer of 17 January 2018 to Question HL4523, there have been no changes to the privileges awarded to previous Heads of Service.



Armed Forces: Officers
(Word Document, 24.92 KB)

Military Decorations

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howeon 30 November 2017 (HL3468), whether any Long Service and Good Conduct Medals for retired Heads of Service were produced but have not subsequently been issued.

earl howe: The criteria for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (LS&GC) state that all Officers must have been in Regular service on or after 29 July 2014, and have served for 15 years from the date of attestation with good conduct. Some LS&GC medals were produced, in error, for retired Heads of Service which were not in accordance with the criteria. The error was discovered before these medals were issued.

Type 26 Frigates

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byEarl Howe on 1 February (HL5091), whether they have produced any estimates of the difference in cost per ship if long-lead items had been ordered for all eight Type 26 Frigates, rather than for an initial batch of three ships.

earl howe: The Ministry of Defence undertook a series of cost modelling options to inform the decision to order the ships in two batches, and this included the purchase of long-lead items. We concluded that any small benefit that might accrue from buying long-lead items for all eight ships would be offset by the risk of the items becoming obsolete before the start of the programme for the second batch of ships.

Kuwait: Armed Forces

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possibility of deploying an enhanced UK military presence in Kuwait.

earl howe: There are on going discussions between the UK and Kuwaiti Governments, without commitment, to consider options to enhance the UK military presence in Kuwait. Currently the UK has a Defence Section in the Embassy in Kuwait and has, for many years, advised and developed Kuwait's Armed Forces through a British Military Mission permanently based in Kuwait. In addition, we have been supporting the counter-Daesh coalition with troops based in Kuwait. The UK military partnership with Kuwait also includes joint exercising with Kuwait's military institutions and Armed Forces.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Nationals: Emigration

lord radice: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of nationals of other EU states who will leave the UK between now and the end of the Brexit transition period; and what are the principal skills categories expected to be affected by their departure, if any.

lord callanan: The Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU. Their independent advice will inform our decisions about future immigration arrangements. Additionally, the Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. Our overall programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and is continuously updated. The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders.

UK Relations with EU

lord kinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice, if any, they have received on whether a Treaty between the UK and the EU, relating to relations afterBrexit, will require a referendum in the Republic of Ireland before ratification.

lord callanan: It is not for us to comment on the constitutional arrangements in another sovereign nation.